Presenting user interface elements to a screen reader using placeholders

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing information to a screen reader. A method includes the actions of receiving information for representing a web page in a browser; setting focus initially on an element of the web page and presenting the web page to a user; and in response to a user command directing the focus to consecutive target elements of the web page, assigning information related to each target element to a placeholder control and providing a screen reader with access to the placeholder control as the element having focus.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to digital data processing andmore particularly to presenting controls of web pages to screen readersin a reliable way.

Screen readers are software programs that present graphics and text asspeech. For a computer user who is blind or otherwise visually impaired,and therefore cannot read information from a visual display device,e.g., a computer monitor, a screen reader is used to provide informationin a non-visual form to a user about what appears on the screen, whichwill generally include names and descriptions of control buttons, menus,text, and punctuation. In essence, a screen reader transforms agraphical user interface (GUI) into an audio or other non-visualinterface. Screen readers can also be used in other circumstances, forexample, in industrial workplaces by operators whose eyes are busy withtasks other than watching a computer display.

Many computer-implemented applications display information on a computerscreen using a web browser based interface. Such applications can besites of web pages served over the Internet or client-server basedsystems such as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Businessprocesses within enterprises are often controlled usingcomputer-implemented systems such as ERP systems. An example of an ERPsystem is the integrated business solution made by SAP AG of Walldorf(Baden) Germany. Within such a system a number of business processes canbe controlled, for example, human resources, finance, controlling,purchases, sales, production, and planning. Implementations of businessprocesses usually involve workflows, i.e., sequences of generallysequential steps for completing a specific business process. Typicalimplementations use a web-based client-server architecture, withclient-side graphical user interfaces. Vision-impaired users rely onscreen readers to interact with the graphical user interfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and apparatus, including computerprogram products, that implement techniques for providing information toa screen reader.

In general, in one aspect, the invention features corresponding methodsand apparatus for providing information to a screen reader. A methodincludes receiving information for representing a web page in a browser;setting focus initially on an element of the web page and presenting theweb page to a user; and in response to a user command directing thefocus to consecutive target elements of the web page, assigninginformation related to each target element to a placeholder control andproviding a screen reader with access to the placeholder control as theelement having focus. The method can be implemented to include one ormore of the following advantageous features. Focus is selectivelytransferred from the target element to the placeholder control accordingto the target element and from the placeholder control to a next targetelement in response to a next navigation step by the user. Theplaceholder control is one of a pair of a first placeholder control anda second placeholder control used alternately. The user command isgenerated using a keyboard. The web page is presented in a web browser.The placeholder control is visually represented by the web browser.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features correspondingmethods and apparatus for providing information to a screen reader. Amethod includes receiving at a client side information for representinga web page in a browser; setting focus initially on an element of theweb page and presenting the web page to a user; and in response to auser command directing the focus to an element of the web page,determining whether the element is present in a functionality map, andif so, looking up the element in the functionality map, then processingthe element as indicated by a corresponding entry point in the map, andif not, providing the focus and information related to web page elementsassociated with the focus to a placeholder control, and providing ascreen reader with access to the placeholder control. The method can beimplemented to include one or more of the following advantageousfeatures. The functionality map is a functionality table. The screenreader is identified, and based on the identity of the screen reader, afunctionality map from a set of functionality maps is selected. Themethod includes locating multiple screen readers on the client side, andselecting one of the screen readers for use. The selection is done basedon the number of entries in a respective functionality map for thescreen reader.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features correspondingmethods and apparatus for providing information to a screen reader. Amethod includes receiving web page information that includes data to bepresented, visual order data relating to the data to be presented, andaudible order data relating to the data to be presented; compiling,based on the received web page information, a web page representation tobe interpreted by a web browser; and compiling, based on the receivedweb page information, a web page representation to be interpreted forpresentation to an assistive application. The method can be implementedto include one or more of the following advantageous features. Theaudible order information includes a tab or keyboard sequence. The tabor keyboard sequence uniquely defines navigation paths between pageelements. The visual order data includes page structure data. The visualorder data is represented in a hierarchical data structure. The audibleorder information includes a tab or keyboard sequence. The tab orkeyboard sequence uniquely defines navigation paths between pageelements.

The invention can be implemented to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. Good keyboard accessibility of the various user interfacecontrols on a browser screen is provided. Good accessibility of acomputer system to a vision-impaired user is provided. By providingwithin a client-side framework a placeholder control interface withwhich the screen reader communicates, the information presented to thescreen reader (and consequently through the screen reader to the user)through the control interface is unambiguously defined. Native tools canbe used, resulting in efficient use of computing resources. Thenavigation commands given by the user through the interface are clearand efficient, so that a user can use the client-side interface incombination with a screen reader in an efficient manner.

Details of implementations of the invention are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and in the description below. Further features,aspects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from thedescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method that uses placeholder controls tosupport a screen reader.

FIG. 3 illustrates a functionality table used in one implementation ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method used in one implementation of the invention.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example implementation of the invention. A server102 is running an application, for example a business application, thatis accessed by a user using a client 106 over a network 104. The client106 has a keyboard 112 or other input device for receiving usercommands, as well as a loudspeaker 114 for outputting audio informationor other output device for outputting non-visual information, e.g.,tactile information. The network 104 can be any kind of communicationnetwork, including a local area network or a wide area network.Generally, the client 106 will also have a visual display device 122.

Typically, clients run web browsers to access web-based applications.Web-based applications are applications that interact with clientdevices through protocols of the World Wide Web and present themselvesto users in the form of web pages. A web page is composed of componentsor elements, many of which can include further components or elements.When running such an application, the server 102 sends web pages to theclient web browser 108. Web browsers exist that run on a wide range ofclient devices, including personal computers, personal digitalassistants, and cell phones. For brevity, web pages and web browserswill be referred to simply as pages and browsers.

In use, the client 106 runs a browser 108 and a screen reader 110. Anyscreen reader can be used that can obtain web display and statusinformation from a browser. A variety of screen readers are commerciallyavailable. A page typically includes content (layout and data) thatdefines a graphical user interface of an application. A page typicallyis rendered on the server into, and is received by the browser in, abrowser-compatible format, such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) orWML (Wireless Markup Language), or in a format that can be converted tosuch a browser-compatible format by code running on the client.

The functionality of the browser is extended, as compared to the normalfunctionality of displaying pages, by providing the browser with programcode parts that can be executed by the browser to perform theclient-side operations described in this specification. Such code partscan be written in a scripting language, e.g., ECMAScript or VBScript.The program code parts can be part of a client-side frameworkimplemented in script classes. The server can send these program codeparts as browser-compatible instructions to the client to provide aclient-side framework. The program code parts can be provided to theclient using any suitable method, and can, for example, be installed inthe client, or downloaded from a server. For convenience, the programcode parts will be referred to collectively as a “placeholder manager”,which is illustrated as placeholder manager 120 in FIG. 1.

In computer applications that use a graphical user interface, generallyone user interface element has focus. If the user interface element withfocus is an input element, input actions (for example, pressing keys ona keyboard) will be directed to that element. With a user interfaceinput element, a visual indicator is generally used (such as, forexample; a system caret, cursor or insertion point, or highlighting) toindicate visually that the element has focus. The focus indicator isgenerally moved as the input focus changes as a result, for example, ofa user navigating by pressing the tab key. When the screen reader 110 isactive, it obtains information about the element that has focus andprovides the information to the user.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a page is received in a client it is processed(step 200). In one implementation, the markup language portions of thepage are processed and the page is made available for manipulation andprocessing through Document Object Model (DOM) interfaces. DOM APIs(application programming interfaces) are defined by specificationsprovided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The DOM (e.g., HTMLDOM) represents documents as a hierarchy of nodes, which can be referredto as the DOM tree. Using the DOM API, script code running in a browsercan access and manipulate a parsed HTML or XML document. In the presentexample implementation, a DOM tree represents the user interfaceelements of a page received in the browser. The user interface elementsare rendered by the browser, and the audible information is rendered forthe placeholder controls, which will now be described.

A first placeholder control 116 (“P1”) and a second placeholder control118 (“P2”) are added to the displayed page (step 202). They can be addedon the server side or on the client side. The placeholder controls 116,118 support both programmatic assignment of focus and presentation oftheir content to a screen reader. In one implementation, they aregenerated on the client side by a client-side framework or client-sideprogram code, which framework or code is generically being referred toas the placeholder manager. The placeholder controls can be made visibleor invisible on the screen. As will be described, focus as seen by thescreen reader for presentation to the user is generally assigned to oneof the placeholder controls. The placeholder controls can optionally bedefined on a virtual page. The placeholders are initialized so thatthere is a current and a next placeholder control for use as the usernavigates on the page.

A user interface element on the page gets the focus (step 204).Initially, when a page is loaded, an element that is the starting pointof navigation on the page gets the focus. To distinguish the element onthe page that has focus, it may be referred to as the target element.The initial target element, like all target elements, has acorresponding to a position within the DOM tree. Information about thetarget element can be retrieved using DOM calls on the page.

As the user navigates through the page, using the tab keys of thekeyboard, for example, in forward or backward direction, the focus movesamong the user interface elements on the page, e.g., from one form fieldto a next form field, or from element to element inside a table.Navigation is not limited to tab key or even keyboard input; any methodof navigation and input device can be used by the user.

In one implementation, the placeholder manager receives all navigationinput and programmatically sets focus on actual page elements or onplaceholder controls, bypassing that aspect of the operation of thebrowser, and maintaining its own model of the user's focus on the page.This behavior can be hard coded, or it can be controlled, at least inpart, by data of the kind that will described in reference to FIGS. 3and 4.

When a navigation input is received (step 204), or when focus is firstestablished, the placeholder manager identifies the next target elementon the page (step 206), i.e., the element that will next have focus.This is done based on the input received and the then-current state ofthe page.

Each placeholder control can have text assigned to it. The placeholdermanager assigns text to a next placeholder control (e.g., P2) accordinginformation obtained about the target element (step 216), and then setsthe focus as seen by the screen reader from the current placeholdercontrol (e.g., P1) to the next placeholder control (e.g., P2), whichbecomes the current placeholder control (step 218). In oneimplementation, the focus seen by the screen reader is the browserfocus, so that no reprogramming of the accessibility interface of thebrowser is required. The screen reader is programmatically notified ofthe change of focus, e.g., through a listener registered by the screenreader with the browser, and the screen reader reads the newly assignedtext with each focus switch (step 220), thereby informing the user aboutthe target user interface element.

For each navigation step, the roles of the placeholder controls arereversed and the screen reader reads the newly assigned text, asdescribed above. More than two placeholder controls can be used, inwhich case the order of switching can be made in a chain or a looppattern.

In an implementation in which the browser focus is the focus for thescreen reader, user input to a page element must be dealt with. Onealternative is to have the placeholder controls receive the input fromthe user and programmatically provide it to the elements on the page.Generally more convenient, however, is for the placeholder manager toset focus to an actual input element on the page to receive user inputwhen the user has navigated to an input field, especially as screenreaders usually have special functions for handling common inputelements. In this alternative, either a placeholder control is givenfocus (“Use placeholder” branch from decision step 210 to step 216), orfocus is given to an actual element on the page (“Use actual element”branch from decision step 210 to step 212), in which case theplaceholder manager sets focus to an element on the page and the statusof the placeholder controls is unchanged (step 212). The screen reader,upon detecting the change of focus, reads the element having focus (step220).

As a further option, a functionality map, described below in referenceto FIG. 3, can be used to identify page elements for which an actualpage element rather than a placeholder control gets focus and istherefore read by the screen reader. This is illustrated in FIG. 2 as anadditional decision step (step 208); however, this can be implementedinstead of steps 210 and 212.

Screen readers typically have special functions for processingparticular HTML elements, notably elements of the type <inputtype=“text” . . . >, to give them special treatment. A functionalitytable 300 (FIG. 3) is used to allow the special functions of a screenreader to be used for particular controls and, optionally, to select ascreen reader to use. The functionality table 300 has entries matchingpage elements 310 with entry point identifiers (IDs) 320 that identifythe elements that the screen reader should use in making a particularpage element accessible. The entry points can be expressed, for example,by HTML id attributes or by a naming conventions for such identifiers.The functionality table 300 can have one or more element entries 310;for a single entry 310, one or more entry point IDs 320 can be listed.Optionally, a reserved entry can be used to indicate that the use of aplaceholder control is to be bypassed for the corresponding target entry(i.e., that the actions of step 212 rather than the actions of steps216, 218 are performed). Other data structures, e.g., dictionarystructures or list structures, can be used instead of a table structure.Generically, such data structures will be referred to as “functionalitymaps”.

A functionality map can be specific to a single type of screen reader,listing the specific functions for that screen reader type. Afunctionality map can be identified by one or more identifyingcharacteristics, e.g., screen reader name and version number.

In one implementation, client code identifies the screen reader in useon the client system and selects a functionality map that corresponds tothe screen reader in use. Optionally, a lookup table or list is providedthat lists each available functionality map so that the appropriatefunctionality map can be used at run time.

In an alternative implementation, client code scans the client systemfor screen readers and selects one of them. The selected screen readeris then activated. The selection can be based on the presence of afunctionality map for the screen reader and/or on the extent of thefunctions in the functionality maps when multiple maps are present, inwhich case a screen reader with more available functions can beselected.

As shown in FIG. 2, if there is a functionality map (“Functionality map”branch from decision step 208) and the target element is found in thefunctionality map (“yes” branch from step 250), the native element,i.e., an HTML element associated with the page element by thefunctionality map, is used to represent the page element to the screenreader (step 260). This representative is processed by the nativefunctionality of the screen reader (step 270). On the next navigationcommand of the user, the process resumes at step 204.

If the page element is not found in the functionality map (“no” branchfrom step 250), the process continues at step 216.

In an implementation that does not support functionality maps at all,the operations specific to them (steps 208, 250, 260, 270) would, ofcourse, be omitted.

As will now be described in reference to FIG. 4, the pages received inthe client can optionally include presentation data for presentation bya user interface, visual order data defining an order for visualnavigation, and audible order data defining an order for audible (orotherwise assisted) navigation. This data can be compiled by the server(step 410). The visual order information includes the structure of thepage, and can, for example, be represented in a hierarchical datastructure, for example, an HTML tree structure. The audible orderinformation includes a tab or keyboard sequence, by which of the pathsbetween page elements based on tab or keyboard navigation are uniquelydefined.

A page can be represented as a list of objects. In a pseudo code form,an example of such a list is:

[  {type=“text”, name=“field2”},  {type=“text”, name=“field3”}, {type=“submit”, name=“submit”} ]where the square brackets delimit the list, and the braces denote theelements within the same structure. In this implementation, both the tabor keyboard navigation order and the visual navigation order areimplicitly defined in the list definition.

In an alternative implementation, the page is represented in ahierarchical structure, such as for example a tree, or any othersuitable ordered data structure, and the tab or keyboard navigationorder is explicitly defined. In a pseudo code form, an example of such atree is:

{ type=“group”, name=“g1”, next=“f2”, previous=“submit”, content={ {type=“text”, name=“f2”, next=“f3”, previous=“g1”},  {type=“text”,name=“f3”, next=“g2”, previous=“f2”},  { type=“group”, name=“g2”,next=“f5”, previous=“f3”, content={   {type=“text”, name=“f5”, next=“o”,previous=“g2”},   {type=“output”, content=“Hello World”, next=“b”,previous=“f5”}   },  {type=“submit”, name=“b”, next=“g1”, previous=“g2”} } }where the next and previous attributes relate to navigation between theelements of the page. These attributes can be given effect by theplaceholder manager, as described above.

After receipt of the page data by the client (step 420), HTML-compliantcode can be generated from it (step 430), as well as input informationthat a client-side framework can use to distribute to the placeholdermanager (step 440). By compiling page representations for interpretationby the browser and the placeholder manager (and therefore the screenreader) based on the same received page information, consistency isguaranteed between (i) the markup as parsed and shown by the webbrowser, and (ii) the audible output of the screen reader of dataobtained from the placeholder manager. Advantageously, the dynamicmodification of page information, for example, by changing the sourceinformation or a program internal data structure, triggers regenerationof the page and thus always yields consistency between the visual andaudible output from the browser and screen reader. After compilation,the browser-compliant code is transferred to the browser, and the screenreader data is transferred to the placeholder manager and processed asdescribed above.

As mentioned earlier, the functionality of a conventional browser can beenhanced by a client-side framework implemented in a scripting language.One such framework is described in commonly-owned U.S. PatentPublication No. US-2003-0172197-A1 for a “JavaScript Client Framework”to Dencker et al. The techniques described in this specification forproviding information to a screen reader can be implemented in thisclient-framework (“CSF”). One implementation will now briefly bedescribed.

In the CSF, every displayed control has a corresponding JavaScript classinstance that contains the functionality of the specific control. Forexample, an InputField instance can check whether a character entered bythe user is valid for a corresponding InputField control, or a TabStripinstance can change the visualization when the user selects a differenttab in a TabStrip control.

Every specific control has a representation as an HTML DOM subtree.Thus, there a two trees: (1) the UI tree (user interface tree) of thescreen represented by instances of corresponding JavaScript classes, and(2) the resulting HTML DOM tree, which is a rendering that determinesthe actual visualization in the browser. In the CSF, every userinterface element is an instance of the abstract base class UIElement.The UI tree will consist of (1) UIElements that are container elementsand can contain other UIElements (e.g. Group, Tray, TabStrip), and (2)simple UIElements (e.g. Image, TextView, InputField), which cannotcontain any further UIElements.

The order and structure of the UI tree implicitly specifies the order ofthe tab chain. From this information, the CSF knows which UIElement isto receive focus when the user presses the tab key. In addition, everyUIElement knows what information is to be read by the screen reader whena particular UIElement event occurs. This is coded in the implementationof the UIElement JavaScript class.

For example, focus can move to an InputField control. The implementationof the InputField specifies that specific text should be read, accordingto the properties of the specific control, e.g., “InputField ‘Number ofitems to order’—Enter a positive Integer. Press F2 to get detailedinformation”. An event other than an on focus event can also result ininformation being made available for reading. For example, when the userscrolls in a table control, only the new displayed lines have to beread, and the implementation of the corresponding table JavaScript classso specifies.

The CSF uses the information specifying the tab chain and the text thatshould be read by the screen reader when a user interaction occurs toprovide information for a screen reader using techniques described ingreater detail above. Using two placeholders, the CSF (1) sets the textto the placeholder that does not have focus when the interaction occurs,and (2) sets the focus to that placeholder; as a consequence of which,(3) the screen reader reads the text; and then (4) if more text is to beread, the CSF continues with action (1). As also described in greaterdetail above, for particular data entry controls that are handled asexceptions, or for any other controls that are handled as exceptions,the CSF gives focus to the control itself, rather than to a placeholder,to facilitate the handling of data entered by the user, for example, orto exploit particular screen reader functionality.

In an implementation with such a client-side framework, a placeholdermanager only needs to get the text and the information about which HTMLelement has to be handled from the framework. Having that, theplaceholder manager can use the placeholders or handle the exceptions asdescribed above. The framework could be the CSF or it could be adifferent framework that gets the information out of a functionalitytable. It is advantageous that the framework maintain the text contentand tab chain information separately from the actions of the placeholdermanager.

Advantageously, the techniques described in this specification can beimplemented without relying on a hard programmed interpretation ofstatic HTML code or the like, and they can be used effectively withapplications where the user interface can be highly personalized and/orcustomized, as is often the case with standard business softwareapplications.

These techniques can also be used to provide assisted access to webpages that do not necessarily originate from a server application; forexample, they can be used with web pages generated on a stand-alonecomputer system.

These techniques can be used with assistive applications that facilitateaccess to computer systems other than screen readers, such as, forexample, screen magnifiers. In particular, these techniques can be usedwith assistive applications that require the transformation of visual orscreen information into other forms of information transportation, suchas sound, touch, or motion.

Finally, these techniques can be used with a large variety ofinformation processing platforms, because they can be implemented withno special or additional functionality, such as for example Java appletsor ActiveX components, in the browser. However, these techniques can beimplemented using such components.

Aspects of the invention and all of the functional operations describedin this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructural means disclosed in this specification and structuralequivalents thereof, or in combinations of them. Implementations of theinvention can be made as one or more computer program products, i.e.,one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in a machine-readablestorage device, for execution by, or to control the operation of, dataprocessing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, ormultiple processors or computers. A computer program (also known as aprogram, software, software application, or code) can be written in anyform of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does notnecessarily correspond to a file. A program can be stored in a portionof a file that holds other programs or data, in a single file dedicatedto the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g.,files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions ofcode). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computeror on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiplesites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions of the invention by operating oninput data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can alsobe performed by, and apparatus of the invention can be implemented as,special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. A computer can beembedded in another device, e.g., in a digital appliance, for example, amobile telephone or a personal digital assistant, to name just a few.Information carriers suitable for embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, the invention can be implementedon a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) orLCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to theuser and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball,by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds ofdevices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; forexample, output provided to the user can be in any sensory form, e.g.,visual, auditory, or tactile output; and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The invention can be implemented in a computing system that includes aback-end component (e.g., a data server), a middleware component (e.g.,an application server), or a front-end component (e.g., a clientcomputer having a graphical user interface or a web browser throughwhich a user can interact with an implementation of the invention), orany combination of such back-end, middleware, and front-end components.The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or mediumof digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examplesof communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and awide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

The invention has been described in terms of particular implementations,but other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.For example, the operations recited in the claims can be performed in adifferent order or in parallel and still achieve desirable results.Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

1. A computer-implemented method for providing information to a screen reader comprising: receiving information on a computer for representing a web page in a browser; presenting the web page on the computer; receiving a first input command on the computer requesting focus on a target element of the web page; determining, on the computer, whether the target element is a user input field in advance of assigning focus to the target element or a placeholder control corresponding to the target element; assigning focus to the target element when the target element is determined to be a user input field; assigning focus to one of a pair of placeholder controls when the target element is not a user input field, the placeholder controls receiving focus in an alternating fashion in response to subsequent input commands; providing a first screen reader, on a computer, with content specific to the identified placeholder control or the target element.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to a subsequent input command, selectively transferring focus from the identified placeholder control or target element to a next target element.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user command is generated using a keyboard.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page is presented in a web browser.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the placeholder control is visually represented by the web browser.
 6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising: scanning a system for a plurality of screen readers; selecting the first screen reader from the plurality of screen readers; activating the first screen reader before providing the content to the first screen reader.
 7. A computer program product, tangibly embodied on a machine-readable storage device, operable to cause a data process apparatus to perform the operations of: receiving information for representing a web page in a browser; presenting the web page; receiving a first input command requesting focus on a target element of the web page; determining whether the target element is a user input field in advance of assigning focus to the target element or a placeholder control corresponding to the target element; assigning focus to the target element when the target element is determined to be a user input field; assigning focus to one of a pair of placeholder controls when the target element is not a user input field, the placeholder controls receiving focus in an alternating fashion in response to subsequent input commands; providing a first screen reader with content specific to the identified placeholder control or the target element.
 8. The product of claim 7, further operable to cause the data process apparatus to perform the operation of: in response to a subsequent input command, selectively transferring focus from the identified placeholder control or target element to a next target element.
 9. The product of claim 7, wherein the user command is generated using a keyboard.
 10. The product of claim 7, wherein the web page is presented in a web browser.
 11. The product of claim 10, wherein the placeholder control is visually represented by the web browser.
 12. A system comprising: a processor; a memory with a computer program stored thereon for: receiving information for representing a web page in a browser; presenting the web page; receiving a first input command requesting focus on a target element of the web page; determining whether the target element is a user input field in advance of assigning focus to the target element or a placeholder control corresponding to the target element; assigning focus to the target element when the target element is determined to be a user input field: assigning focus to one of a pair of placeholder controls when the target element is not a user input field, the placeholder controls receiving focus in an alternating fashion in response to subsequent input commands; providing a first screen reader with content specific to the identified placeholder control or the target element.
 13. The system of claim 12, the computer program being further configured to: selectively transfer focus from the identified placeholder control or target element to a next target element in response to a subsequent input command.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the system comprises a keyboard and the user command is generated using the keyboard.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the web page is presented in a web browser.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the placeholder control is visually represented by the web browser. 